WOD at the Y

I recently wrote about joining the Wood River YMCA because I can’t momentarily get into the 5B Crossfit gym I typically go to. I also mentioned that while the Y has amazing amenities it just doesn’t have the feel of Crossfit. This is still true, but last night I did my first CF workout on my own at the Y. Ya see, I wasn’t able to get out of work early enough to go to the yoga class I planned on attending but really wanted to get my sweat on. So, I decided to finally ‘break the seal’ and do a WOD.

I’m not a natural ‘gym rat’ so doing my own thing makes me uncomfortable, especially when it comes to lifting weights. That’s the area in the gym where you can typically find big, muscle-head dudes who eyeball us ladies with that, ‘WTF is she doing over here?’ look. Well, after I kicked some rowing ass (500m warm up at around 2:30) I made my way over to the area with the iron – and I got a few looks, but whatevs. {Ok, maybe I was imagining it.}

I decided to work on deadlifts cuz I’m fairly good at them. I did ok in that department: 65 lbs (5) 75 lbs (5) and 80 lbs (5). I kept it light. It’s been awhile.

Then I tried to think of which WOD I could do where I would a. feel comfortable; b. know the moves; and c. include BJ’s. BJ’s are my favorite. {And I’m talking about box jumps here. Yes, I intended that to be tongue-in-cheek.}

After searching through my box’s WOD history I found the perfect one: 5 glorious rounds of 5 glorious power cleans and 10 glorious box jumps. It was perfect for me. A little bit of metcon, a little bit of weight. I chose to do the power cleans with 55 lbs and I believe the box I used was 20”. I’d say that’s not a bad set up for someone who hasn’t done CF regularly since March. I set up my bar, turned on the timer, took a deep breath and started.

It hurt, it hurt real good.

I finished in what I would consider good time – for me. It was 5:35. A little over a minute each round. If I were in my optimal shape it would have been much faster, heavier and higher, but I don’t think like that. I know that I have to work to get back to the level I’m comfortable with so I don’t dwell on the coulda, shoulda, woulda’s.

For the time being, I’m going to keep working out at the Y. I’m going to keep an open mind. I’m going to enjoy the classes I take that tend to cater to the more blue-haired of ladies. I’m going to attend as many yoga classes as I can to enhance my flexibility and peace of mind. I’m going to try my hand at climbing the rock wall. I’m going to become a stronger swimmer in the saline pool. Most of all, I’m going to stick with improving myself mentally and physically, even if that means temporarily resigning from the comfort of my Box.